Artists are listed in reverse order of appearance. Headliners will play around 9pm. Doors open 2pm on Friday and 11am on Saturday & Sunday with performances starting soon after.
Performance times can be seen at the festival information tent and bar and also in the festival programme.
FRIDAY 3rd september 2010
Main Stage
The Divine Comedy
Turin Brakes
Fyfe Dangerfield
Erland and The Carnival
Sparrow and the Workshop
Ben Calvert
Lunar Stage
Beth Jeans Houghton
Starless and Bible Black
Hannah Peel with Table
Vadoinmessico
Matthew P
SATURDAY 4th september 2010
Main Stage
Donovan
The Low Anthem
High Llamas
Johnny Flynn
Spider John Koerner
Alasdair Roberts
Lisa Knapp and Gerry Diver
Lunar Stage
Goodnight Lenin
Dan Walsh and Will Pound
Jo Hamilton
Malpas
Megan Henwood
Arborea
Oh Ruin
SUNDAY 5th september 2010
Main Stage
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
The Unthanks
Lunasa
John Renbourn
The Destroyers
Martin Simpson
Bella Hardy
Lunar Stage
Cut A Shine
Rainbow Chasers
The Urban Folk Quartet
Little Sister
Broom Bezzums
James Hickman, Dan Cassidy and Deborah Hodgson
Samuel Walter
FRIDAY 3rd september 2010
Bohemian Jukebox Stage
Gurdan Thomas
Zoe Mulford
Tara Chinn
99*Star
Beneath The Oak
Fox
Tom Martin
The Gardenelles
Charlie
Bulls Head Pub
SATURDAY 4th september 2010
Bohemian Jukebox Stage
Zapoppin'
Perrot's Folly
Ben Calvert
Boat To Row
Workshop - Rapper Dancing with Ryknild Rabble
A Bull
Friends of The Stars
Rich McMahon
Z+
Workshop - Harmonica with Will Pound
Workshop - Clawhammer banjo with Dan Walsh
Bulls Head Pub
Workshop - Song Writing with Alasdair Roberts
SUNDAY 5th september 2010
Bohemian Jukebox Stage
Elfynn
James Summerfield
Richard Burke
Dust Motes
Workshop - Dancing with Cut A Shine
Loose Kites
Miranda Versus The Crok
Panda Su
Chase Mist
Workshop - Penny whistle with Belinda Hutchings
Workshop - Ukulele with the SCUPA
Bulls Head Pub
Workshop - Song with Bella Hardy
Workshop - Arranging Traditional Tunes with Elfynn
The Divine Comedy
Neil Hannon (aka The Divine Comedy) shot to prominence in the early 90s. Thanks to a unique lyrical dexterity, a mastery of subtle reinvention, a loyal fan base, and an ever-increasing back catalogue of classic pop, he has remained prominent, and relevant, long after other pieces of that era have passed away.What Hannon now considers The Divine Comedy’s debut album, ‘Liberation’, was greeted with adoration from the press in 1993. The NME described it as ‘an array of seductive yarns… glorious, gleeful tunesmanship’. It was considered ‘one of the bountiful, overflowing joys of the year’ by Select magazine (remember that?). And the late-Melody Maker said that the album could make any listener want to stumble up to Neil Hannon and proclaim ‘you’re a genius’.
Actually, The Divine Comedy, named of course after Dante’s epic poem, had recorded some material prior to ‘Liberation’s release. Neil and two of his friends from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, moved to London and released the REM/Ride-influenced ‘Fanfare for the Comic Muse’ in 1990 and an EP, ‘Europop,’ the following year. They then split. The band mates went to university and Neil went home.
Living back with his parents, Neil slept by day, watched movies by night, and over the following 18 months recorded; influenced by everything from Scott Walker to Merchant-Ivory’s ‘A Room with a View’, he wrote enough songs for two albums. After ‘Liberation’s success, came ‘Promenade’ in the spring of 1994. It was one of Q’s ‘Albums of the Year’. And Select (still around then) called it ‘a masterpiece.’ The Divine Comedy was firmly on the ascent.
1996’s ‘Casanova’, an exploration and dissection of casual affairs and loose morals, again met with critical acclaim. MOJO describing it as ‘a sumptuous paean to life, love, and longing’. Critical acclaim might, however, have been the limit of ‘Casanova’s success, were it not for its record label Setanta deciding to put out ‘Something for the Weekend’ as a single. Then-Radio One DJ Chris Evans (remember him?) fell in love with it, at one stage playing it three times in the same show. After an invitation to TFI Friday, Hannon became a bona fide, but quite unlikely, pop star.
Neil assembled a collective of young and talented musicians to accompany him as The Divine Comedy. These were former ‘young composer of the year’ Joby Talbot on piano, Ivor Talbot on bass, Bryan Mills on guitar, Stuart ‘Pinkie’ Bates on Hammond, and Miggy Baradas on drums. Having garnered a reputation as an unusually exciting and accomplished act, the band, along with the 30-piece Brunel Assemble, put out a 7-song live recording called ‘A Short Album about Love’. Perhaps best remembered for its stand-out single ‘Everybody Knows (Except You’) the album, released just in time for Valentine’s Day, propelled The Divine Comedy on a world tour throughout 1997. 1998’s angsty, quintessentially pop ‘Fin de Siecle’ entered the album charts in the Top 10 and led the Telegraph to describe Hannon as ‘one of the most prodigiously talented individuals working in the world of pop’. Its magnificently memorable single ‘National Express’ also went Top 10.
The Divine Comedy’s first post-millennial offering was the last album as this six-piece. ‘Regeneration’, recorded with Radiohead and Beck producer Nigel Godrich, went back to basics, using no orchestra or choir, and was again wonderfully well-received by media and fans alike. It was Hannon’s first full release in the States, and he spent much of the next two years touring over there – firstly as Ben Folds’ support act and then as a headliner in his own right.
2004 saw the release of ‘Absent Friends’; an album produced and largely performed by just Hannon himself, which reflects on the birth of his first child, the disbanding of the band’s old line-up, and his moving house from London to Dublin. Described by the Guardian as ‘an ornate gem’, it at times makes you want to laugh and cry simultaneously.
2005 then marked the start of a busy period of exploration. Ten years after Hannon had famously written the theme music for Channel 4’s Father Ted, he began focusing on work for others; composing songs for Jane Birkin, scores for potential film and theatrical productions and collaborating with Air and Jarvis Cocker. He wrote songs with Guy Chambers for West End star Laura Michelle Kelly, and also for Dr. Who. While embarking on a now-shelved covers album project, contributing vocals to Joby Talbot’s score for the A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy movie, and winning University College Dublin’s James Joyce Award in recognition for his outstanding contribution to music, Hannon also found time to record another album ‘Victory for the Comic Muse’, which won Ireland’ prestigious Choice Music Prize.
2010 will see the release of a new Divine Comedy record, ‘Bang Goes the Knighthood’. Inevitably another explication of Hannon’s lyrical dexterity, it and this year’s live shows should not be missed.
Artist's Website
Artist's MySpace